Decentralized Governance and Disaster Displacement in Pacific Island Microstates : A Case Study of Palau

Decentralized governance is recognized as an effective mechanism to reduce the risk of disaster impacts. However, the forced movement of people from their homes in the context of disasters and the impacts of climate change – described in this thesis as ‘disaster displacement’ – warrants increased scholarly attention. Geography, history, and culture have shaped forms of governance in Pacific Island Microstates which are characterized by formal and informal structures that are strongly influenced by customary authority. This thesis therefore asks: how does decentralized governance influence the capacity of Pacific Island Microstates to respond to disaster displacement? To address the research question, this thesis analyses the scholarship on disaster displacement and decentralized governance and examines its implications on the ground through a fieldwork-based case study of the Republic of Palau. The thesis considers how the idea of decentralized governance could be conceptualized in the Pacific. It examines the tension between the view that Pacific Island Microstates lack the capacity to respond to disaster impacts because they are ‘small’, ‘powerless’ and ‘isolated’, against the continuous resilience demonstrated by Pacific peoples. The thesis argues that while common characteristics of Pacific Island Microstates, such as population and geographical size, and a heightened risk of disasters and climate change impacts, do limit the physical and human resources required to address effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) and displacement, the resilience of Pacific peoples can compensate for these limitations. The thesis proposes that to enhance disaster resilience and maximize the capacity of Pacific Island Microstates to address disaster displacement, assumptions underlying both the assumed lack of DRR capacity, and historic Pacific resilience, need to be challenged. The thesis concludes that due to the historic status and social influence of customary authorities, the